Orwell's decision
Application: Use Evidence to Support a Response: Acting Under Pressure
Have you ever watched two politicians debate on television? Which candidate made the more favorable impression? At the end of the debate, did you find the candidates' arguments credible? Strong arguments require supportive evidence. Politicians on the campaign trail are judged on their ability to make convincing arguments. In this situation, their credibility rests on their ability to support their positions effectively.
In this Application Assignment, you use supportive evidence to reinforce your position on a decision made under pressure.
Questions about this Assignment? Post them in the Contact the Instructor area. That way, everyone in the class will see and benefit from the Instructor's response.
To prepare for this Assignment:
•Review the following in The Longman Writer: Rhetoric, Reader, Research Guide, and Handbook:
◦Chapter 4, "Supporting the Thesis with Evidence" (pp. 41–46)
◦Chapter 5, "Organizing the Evidence" (pp. 51–54)
◦Chapter 11 selection, "Shooting a Elephant" by George Orwell (pp.183–188)
◦Part VI, "A Concise Handbook"
◾"Fragments" (pp. 602-607)
◾"Faulty Parallelism" (pp. 610–611)
•Consider how Orwell writes of his experience shooting an elephant. What factors influenced his decision to shoot the elephant?
•Find supportive evidence within the readings from The Longman Writer and outside sources regarding consequences of making decisions under pressure.
The Assignment:
Write a 1- to 2-page essay explaining whether Orwell’s decision was justified. Use supportive evidence to reinforce your position. Be sure to include the following:
•Explain Orwell's decision to shoot the elephant and include at least one citation from Orwell to support your position.
•Cite at least two examples from the reading or outside sources (e.g., books, journal articles, web articles) in support of your position. Note: Wikipedia will not be accepted as an outside resource.
•Check for and correct fragments and faulty parallelisms in your writing.
Formatting Expectations:
•Indent the first sentence of each paragraph. Block paragraphs are not acceptable for this Assignment.
Your final document should:
•Be in a 10- or 12-point font, such as Arial or Verdana
•Be double-spaced throughout
•Have 1-inch margins for top, bottom, left, and right
Orwell’s Decision
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Orwell was subjected to an intense moment of pressure. Being the officer in charge at the time, the entire community’s hopes rested on his decision. Having been called to the scene on reports of a rampaging elephant, Orwell had already been subjected to psychological pressure before he met the crowd and the rampaging elephant (Ranyard, Crozier, & Svenson, 1997). His decision to shoot the elephant was fully justified, based on the situation that he faced.
His decision to shoot the elephant is justified due to a number of reasons. First, the elephant had gone through the remote village and had killed and maimed many villagers (StudyMode, 2012). The other villagers, having been enraged by the elephant, called on Orwell to put down the beast. Having a crowd of approximately two thousand people expecting him to kill the elephant forced Orwell to shoot, even though he may have had doubts regarding the need to kill the elephant (Orwell & Carey, 2011). Should Orwell had chosen not to kill the elephant, he would have faced a number of real threats. Many of the threats that he would have faced were hinged on the inn...